Breastfeeding mom forced to stand because no one offered a seat on rush-hour train

Kate Hitchens penned a post urging commuters to be kinder after she was forced to breastfeed her 6-month-old son, Charli, standing up during a recent trip. (Photo: Instagram/babyledweaningclub)

A blogger’s Instagram post about traveling on a train with a baby has gone viral because of the shocking situation she found herself in.

Kate Hitchens was riding a commuter train home from London during rush hour with her 6-month-old son, and unfortunately she couldn’t find a seat. Having to breastfeed her baby, she did so standing — and then took to social media to air her frustration with the fact that “not one person offered a mother carrying a small child a seat for around half an hour, or 3 stops!”

“What has the world come to that a mother has to stand up on a moving train breast feeding a wriggling and writhing 6 month old, 20lb baby?!” the 32-year-old wrote.

Her post also noted that she could have asked for a seat but “shouldn’t have to.”

Hitchens, who is also mom to 3-year-old Oliver, concluded by urging people to “be kinder” if they see others struggling. “Next time you see someone with a child on a train — if you’re able bodied and fit and healthy please offer your seat to them,” she said.